For those of you here trying to dismiss this electoral college issue as a liberal position, and one I’ve taken up in the wake of this election and being a “sore loser”, you are all sadly mistaken. Getting rid of the electoral college had always been a conservative issue, one with which I have been touting for over 30 years, going back to my days as the editorial cartoonist for the (conservative) San Francisco Examiner. Newt Gingrich wanted to get rid of it back when he was the House Speaker and still does to this day. And then there was this take by Donald Trump in 2012 when he thought Romney had won the popular vote:
“@realDonaldTrumpThe electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.11:45 PM – 6 Nov 2012”
“@realDonaldTrumpThis election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!11:33 PM – 6 Nov 2012”
The fact is, if the election had turned out the polar opposite, where Trump won the popular vote and Clinton the electoral vote, I would have done the exact same cartoon. I wonder how many of you would be saying the same thing under those circumstances.
Yes, I do understand why the electoral college was instituted, but those reason had been rendered obsolete decades ago. That is the beauty of the Constitution. it’s a living document that is meant to evolve with changing times. The original Constitution also allowed for slavery to exist. Times change and the time to get rid of the electoral college has been long overdue…just as Mr. Gingrich said many years ago.
For those of you here trying to dismiss this electoral college issue as a liberal position, and one I’ve taken up in the wake of this election and being a “sore loser”, you are all sadly mistaken. Getting rid of the electoral college had always been a conservative issue, one with which I have been touting for over 30 years, going back to my days as the editorial cartoonist for the (conservative) San Francisco Examiner. Newt Gingrich wanted to get rid of it back when he was the House Speaker and still does to this day. And then there was this take by Donald Trump in 2012 when he thought Romney had won the popular vote:
“@realDonaldTrumpThe electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.11:45 PM – 6 Nov 2012”
“@realDonaldTrumpThis election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!11:33 PM – 6 Nov 2012”
The fact is, if the election had turned out the polar opposite, where Trump won the popular vote and Clinton the electoral vote, I would have done the exact same cartoon. I wonder how many of you would be saying the same thing under those circumstances.
Yes, I do understand why the electoral college was instituted, but those reason had been rendered obsolete decades ago. That is the beauty of the Constitution. it’s a living document that is meant to evolve with changing times. The original Constitution also allowed for slavery to exist. Times change and the time to get rid of the electoral college has been long overdue…just as Mr. Gingrich said many years ago.